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Cobb Co. motorcycle officer crashes on way to fatal crash

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A Cobb County police officer wrecked while responding to a deadly crash Wednesday.

The officer was on the East-West Connector and Floyd Road when a driver pulled out in front of him, police said. The officer was forced to take evasive action, and he wrecked. The other driver has been identified, but police said she may not be at fault.

"He was going there, through that intersection with that equipment activated, apparently when she pulled out. He had to lay that motorcycle down," Cobb County Police Sgt. Dana Pierce said.

Witnesses told police the driver that cut off the officer drove a tan Toyota Camry, which left the scene, but they also said the driver may not have known what happened.

Paramedics rushed the motorcycle officer to Kennestone Hospital with serious injuries to his right leg and ankle.

The crash he was responding to was about a mile and a half away. Officers there tried to revive the driver of a car that smashed into some trees, but the driver died of his injuries. They believe some sort of medical condition caused him to veer off the road.

Police said even though Georgia's Move Over law puts the responsibility on drivers to steer clear of emergency vehicles, officers running lights and sirens also have some responsibility.

"Law enforcement has to make sure when they're running lights and sirens to a crash or any call for that matter on a priority-one basis, they have due care to the citizens and the people around them," Pierce said.

Officers will be reviewing surveillance video from a nearby Walmart to determine more about both crashes.

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